The DOI matches its Crossref record; 140 of the 144 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Academic integrity: a review of the literature
Abstract
This article provides a literature review on academic integrity, which encompasses the values, behaviour and conduct of academics in all aspects of their practice. This is a growing area of academic research as a result of the expansion of higher education on a global basis and concerns about standards of professional conduct. The article maps the main strands of research on academic integrity by reference to teaching, research and service using 115 articles derived from both western and Chinese literature. The review indicates that much of the literature is framed in terms of misconduct or academic corruption with research ethics the dominant focus. Researchers investigating academic integrity draw predominantly on multivariate analysis using surveys/questionnaires, documentary analysis and, more occasionally, interviews. While there has been rapid growth in the literature, a stronger focus is needed on identifying ‘ethical’ as well as ‘unethical’ practice despite the methodological challenges in overcoming social desirability reporting.
Overview
Integrity signals
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Verification
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Claims other papers make about this one
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In the citing paper
“Existing academic integrity frameworks (e.g., Borenstein & Howard, 2021;Eaton, 2022;Macfarlane et al., 2014) primarily address traditional forms of misconduct, such as plagiarism and cheating, focusing on moral reasoning and institutional codes rather than technology-mediated ethics.”
From Academic Integrity and Students’ Ethical Use of ChatGPT in Higher Education (2026) · cites this paper as Macfarlane et al., 2014
In the citing paper
“Traditionally linked to plagiarism and cheating (Macfarlane et al., 2014), it lacks a universally accepted definition in the AI era (Hagège, 2023).”
From Academic Integrity and Students’ Ethical Use of ChatGPT in Higher Education (2026) · cites this paper as Macfarlane et al., 2014
Citations
Cites
Theory in Practice: Increasing Professional Effectiveness
Runkel, P. J., Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1976) · The Journal of Higher Education · doi:10.2307/1978718 · Cited by 4,085
Methods of coping with social desirability bias: A review
Nederhof, A. J. (1985) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420150303 · Cited by 2,340 · cited 3×
“that help to combat SDR, as recommended by Nederhof (1985). The potential dis-”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMichalos, A. C., & Poff, D. C. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_260-2 · Cited by 1,970
International Higher Education
Teixeira, P. N., & Shin, J. C. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8905-9_300412 · Cited by 1,316
Browne, J. P. (2010) · Digital Education Resource Archive (University College London) · Cited by 422
Tight, M. (2003) · Cited by 289
Ethical Problems in Academic Research
Swazey, J. P., Anderson, M. S., & Ks, L. (1993) · DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) · Cited by 236
Boundary dilemmas in teacher–student relationships: Struggling with “the line”
Aultman, L. P., Williams-Johnson, M. R., & Schutz, P. A. (2008) · Teaching and Teacher Education · doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.10.002 · Cited by 200
Dual Role Relationships: What Makes Them So Problematic?
Kitchener, K. S. (1988) · Journal of Counseling & Development · doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1988.tb02586.x · Cited by 192
Li, K. (2020) · The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education · doi:10.4135/9781529714395.n91 · Cited by 191
Research works printed but not linked: 19
- Altbach, P.G. 2004. The question of corruption in academe. International Higher Education, 34, 8–10.
- 10.1007/BF02726470 · DOI
- 10.1037/0735-7028.28.2.184 · DOI
- 10.2307/2943972 · DOI
- Brumfiel, G. 2007. Misconduct? It's all academic. Nature, 445, no. 3: 240–41.
- Cheung, K.C. 2002. Restraining academic misconduct and promoting academic righteousness. China Higher Education, 9, no. 3: 7–8.
- Choi, Y.Q., N. Yu, and L. Guang 2010. Introduction to research integrity and academic culture in higher education. Guangli Xuejia, 10, no. 3: 171
- Engle, T.J., and J.L. Smith 1992. Accounting faculty involvement with activities of ethical concern. Accounting Educators' Journal, 4, no. 1: 1–21.
- 10.1037/0735-7028.23.3.203 · DOI
- 10.1037/0735-7028.23.3.190 · DOI
- Liang, T. 2009. Examining the concept of integrity from the Confucius's perspective rooted in the ‘Analects of Confucius’. Chuanshan Journal, 74, no. 4: 75–78.
- Ma, L. 2004. Building academic integrity and ethics in university teaching. Ideological and Political Education Research, 5, 36–37.
- MacIntyre, A. 1981. After virtue, London: Duckworth.
- Sauser, W. I.,Jr. 1990. The ethics of teaching business: Toward a code for business. S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal, 55, no. 4: 33–38.
- 10.1037/0003-066X.46.5.506 · DOI
- Tung, Y.C., and Y.Y. Tsui 2010. Staff's self-discipline is the key mean to cease academic misconducts. Chinese University Technology Transfer, 8, 1–7.
- Wong, T.B., and D.W. Yeung 2010. Concerning the university practices and reflection on academic ethics building. China Higher Education, 7, 33–35.
- Wu, Z. 2010. Teaching postgraduates academic integrity through the discussion of integrity in ‘the Analects of Confucius’. Journal of Educational Development, 10, 79–81.
- Yeung, Y.S. 2002. Academic decay, academic norms and moral principles. Tribune of Science, 6, 28–34.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Abbas, M., Jam, F. A., & Khan, T. I. (2024) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-024-00444-7 · Cited by 531
“Such lack of academic integrity can damage the credibility of higher education institutions (Macfarlane et al., 2014) and harm the achievement motivation of students (Krou et al., 2021).”
BackgroundWang, H., Dang, A., Wu, Z., & Mac, S. (2024) · Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100326 · Cited by 272
Chaudhry, I. S., Sarwary, S. A. M., El Refae, G. A., & Chabchoub, H. (2023) · Cogent Education · doi:10.1080/2331186x.2023.2210461 · Cited by 262
Integrity: What it is and Why it is Important
Huberts, L. W. J. C. (2018) · Public Integrity · doi:10.1080/10999922.2018.1477404 · Cited by 309
Mapping the landscape of academic integrity education programs: what approaches are effective?
Sefcik, L. T., Striepe, M., & Yorke, J. (2019) · Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/02602938.2019.1604942 · Cited by 134
Metadata
- Authors
- Macfarlane, B., Zhang, J., & Pun, A.
- Affiliations
- ,
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Macfarlane, Bruce
- Venue
- Studies in Higher Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2012-08-02
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 339-358
- ISSN
- 0307-5079 (ISSN-L)
- 1470-174X
- OpenAlex
- W2076459868
- Cited by
- 359
- References
- 144
- Citations by year
- 2026: 59 · 2025: 58 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 19.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Studies in Higher Education (publishedVersion)
- Explore Bristol Research (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (acceptedVersion)
- The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Academic integrity and plagiarism
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Ethics in Business and Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Governance and Development
- Keywords
- academic integrity, academic misconduct, academic corruption, research ethics, teacher ethics, service ethics, higher education expansion, social desirability bias, ethical practice
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